It’s true. Being overweight is really not your fault. Americans are almost doomed to carry extra pounds due to a grossly under-regulated food industry; politics as usual. The vast majority of us have to exist on corporate manufactured processed foods that are engineered to be addictive and overloaded with sugars, high amounts of salt, and fat; all leading to your being overweight.

Buying all natural whole foods is not possible for most Americans given the high cost of feeding a family a “real food” diet. With the high rate of unemployment, over 43 million Americans on food stamps, and most only making a little better than minimum wage; it is processed food or nothing.

Our Be-Thin brand of weight management products do exactly what they state (help suppress appetite, burn fat), and they are an excellent start. But Consumer Products International, LLC would also like to assist you in identifying what is causing you to be overweight so you can arm yourself with the scientific information you need to keep off the pounds you shed. Our desire is to help you stay healthy; not just sell you weight loss products.

This article contains two news report videos that you really need to watch to fully understand why you are having difficulty with weight loss; it is not your fault. We urge you to take the time to watch both of them and to read the article in full, along with the other articles listed on the sidebar.

The portions Americans eat are 4 times larger today than they were in the 1950’s.

Fast-food companies promote larger items with signs, staff pins, and place mats. Manufacturers of diet meals such as Lean Cuisine and Weight Watchers frozen dinners advertise larger meal sizes; restaurant reviews refer to large portions, and national chain restaurants promote large-size items directly on menus. Restaurants are using larger dinner plates, bakers are selling larger muffin tins, pizzerias are using larger pans, and fast-food companies are using larger drink and French fry containers. Identical recipes for cookies and desserts in old and new editions of classic cookbooks such as Joy of Cooking specify fewer servings, meaning that portions are expected to be larger. Another indicator of the trend toward larger portions is that automobile manufacturers have installed larger cup holders in newer models to accommodate the larger sizes of drink cups. Overall the portion sizes of virtually all foods and beverages prepared for immediate consumption have increased and now appear just normal to the consumer.

To address the growing obesity problem in the U.S., the CDC has created this infographic highlighting just how eating attitudes and habits have changed over the last 50 years.

There is literally sugar & excessive amounts of salt in pretty much everything in a supermarket, excluding fresh produce, meats, and poultry. There is sugar in toothpaste, chips, gravy, bread, many processed meats, ready to eat meals, and side dishes; the list just goes on and on. And anything that comes in a box, can, or from a factory and that is not in its natural form anymore tends to have a high sodium content.

CBC News Investigation – How Excessive Amounts of Sugar in Your Food is Making You Overweight

Natural sugars are found in fruit as fructose and in dairy products, such as milk and cheese, as lactose. Foods with natural sugar have an important role in the diet of cancer patients and anyone trying to prevent cancer because they provide essential nutrients that keep the body healthy and help prevent disease.

Refined sugar comes from sugar cane or sugar beets, which are processed to extract the sugar. It is typically found as sucrose, which is the combination of glucose and fructose. We use white and brown sugars to sweeten cakes and cookies, coffee, cereal and even fruit. Food manufacturers add chemically produced sugar, typically high-fructose corn syrup, to foods and beverages, including crackers, flavored yogurt, tomato sauce and salad dressing. Low-fat foods are the worst offenders, as manufacturers use sugar to add flavor.

Most of the processed foods we eat add calories and sugar with little nutritional value. In contrast, fruit and unsweetened milk have vitamins and minerals. Milk also has protein and fruit has fiber, both of which keep you feeling full longer.

How the body metabolizes the sugar in fruit and milk differs from how it metabolizes the refined sugar added to processed foods. The body breaks down refined sugar rapidly, causing insulin and blood sugar levels to skyrocket. Because refined sugar is digested quickly, you don’t feel full after you’re done eating, no matter how many calories you consumed. The fiber in fruit slows down metabolism, as fruit in the gut expands to make you feel full.

Salt

Flavored potato chips, movie popcorn, even cereals – anything that comes in a box, can, or from a factory and that is not in its natural form anymore tends to have a higher sodium content, said Lenox Hill Hospital diet and fitness expert Sharon Zarabi.

“Potatoes become potato chips, flour becomes crackers, a grilled chicken breast becomes chicken tenders. Taking something from the farm and making it into a dish, an item, companies add salt,” said Zarabi.

Kids are especially vulnerable to this category of salty staples. “Kids eat a lot more processed food altogether. Its’ quick, easy, tastes good and the products are marketed to kids,” she said.

The CDC report said children should be getting no more than 2,200 milligrams of sodium a day in their diets, yet it found that boys ages 9 to 13 consumed another 1,100 milligrams of sodium above that level, and girls overshot the mark by 800 milligrams.

Ninety percent of children and 89 percent of adults consume more than the recommended 2,300 milligrams (about a teaspoon) of sodium a day, according to the latest findings from the 2009-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Our relentless love of salt is putting us at risk for high blood pressure and other health problems, warned CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden.

“The finding that nine of ten adults and children still consume too much salt is alarming,” Frieden said in a statement. “The evidence is clear: too much sodium in our foods leads to high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Reducing sodium in manufactured and restaurant foods will give consumers more choice and save lives.”

The CDC recommends even less daily sodium for certain groups: No more than 1,500 milligrams a day for adults over 51, African-Americans and adults with pre-hypertension and hypertension because they’re at a greater risk for stroke and heart disease.